Todd Clarke
2023
Todd was lucky to be born into the turkey industry! Being raised on a turkey farm shaped the path he would take in life. He completed his education in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, and worked on the rigs for a few years always coming home to help with seeding, harvest, and of course, turkey shipping.
Todd married Corrine Godwin in April 1984 and they had three children, Brooklynn, Fallon, and Derek. At the time of this writing, they have five grandchildren, with another on the way.
Todd & Corrine’s turkey farming story begins before they were even born. In 1945, Todd’s grandparents, Margaret and Gerald Clarke Sr., placed 1,000 broad-breast bronze turkey poults. Later, they would dabble with breeders for a few years, but in the end, enjoyed raising heavy hens instead. In 1972, Gerald Sr. passed away leaving the farm to Todd’s parents, Sandy and Gerald Clarke Jr. “Nappy” as Gerald Jr. was called by those closest to him, passed away too soon at the age of 49, resulting in Todd and Corrine taking over the family farm in 1993. Although both were young, they were eager to make the farm succeed and purchased more quota and land. Todd and Corrine took pride in raising healthy flocks of turkeys and bountiful crops in the field. They spent many hours in their barns, hand feeding poults in the brooder barn and loading birds from the grow-out barn, with their children and grandchildren often joining them.
Todd began his first term as a Director for the Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan (TFS) on January 1, 2009, and in 2014, he became the alternate representative for Saskatchewan with the Turkey Farmers of Canada. Todd also represented TFS on the Saskatchewan Poultry Industry Emergency Management Team. He really enjoyed learning all aspects of the turkey industry and appreciates the irreplaceable friendships he gained along the way.
After 75 years and three generations of turkey farming from 1945 to 2020, Clarke’s Turkey Farm discontinued its operations and transferred their quota to Hillsvale Colony near Cutknife, SK. It was the toughest decision Todd and Corrine had made but they felt it was time to try something different and seek out new adventures! The Clarkes reside on their farm south of Esterhazy.